1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to security railings for balconies, stairs, and the like and more particularly to an improved plastic railing which will meet building codes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the present trend toward multistory condominium and apartment buildings having balconies, there is a need for a security railing formed from non-corrosive materials. It has been found that metallic security railings which have been constructed from iron, steel, aluminum or the like have a short life in buildings exposed to polluted air and for buildings in coastal areas exposed to the corrosive effect of the salt water atmosphere. To maintain such metallic security railings in safe condition, continuous maintenance is required for removing rust and corrosion, and for refinishing of the railings. Where such maintenance is neglected, such railings can quickly become unsafe and dangerous.
There have been attempts in the prior art to develop reinforced non-metallic structures suitable for railings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,764 to Totten, a rail is disclosed having a wooden core with a weather and abrasion resistant outer coating. However, a plurality of valve means must be proven for releasing vapor from the core yet preventing passage of water into the core. Furthermore, the strength of the Totten rail is determined by the wood core. To obtain the necessary strength for a building security railing, is is considered that the resulting structure would be too bulky and unattractive. Murphy in U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,250 teaches a fence post fabricated from tubular plastic material and filled with semi-rigid or rigid foam for additional strength. However, the posts appears to be suitable only for stringing of wire fencing. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,140 to Clemens, et al. shows a non-corrosive plastic handrail system designed for use in industrial applications along stairways, platforms, and the like to eliminate the corrosion problems due to electric currents and fields as well as corrosive environments. The strength of the handrail system described depends upon the use of a special thermosetting resin in which high tensile strength reinforcing fibers have been incorporated as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,859,409. Such specialized material is expensive and the patent does not disclose any testing of strength to determine if the material would satisfy building codes for balcony railings in apartment buildings and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,461 to Caron introduced a laminated railing formed from polyvinyl chloride pipe which has solved many of the problems with known prior art security railings. The present invention represents an improvement over the Caron railing by eliminating the necessity for laminated pipe as will be described hereinafter.